Today I'm taking my virtual fountain pen in hand to write a few Friday letters. I've read several things and I have some reactions. You might, too.
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Kittens, yes. Snakes, no, absolutely not, never in a million years.
No thank you,
A person who is creeped out even thinking about snakes
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Dear Charles Darwin,
I know you are no longer alive, but I still want to thank you for your letter writing. Whenever I have a bad day, I remember that you, one of our greatest scientific minds, also had some bad days, and you expressed your thoughts quite eloquently in your letters.
Oh my God how I do hate species & varieties.
-Charles Darwin to J.D. Hooker, 11 Mar 1858
I am very tired, very stomachy & hate nearly the whole world.
-Charles Darwin to Thomas Huxley, 10 Sep 1860
I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything.
-Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell, 1 Oct 1861
I hate myself, I hate clover, and I hate bees.
-Charles Darwin to John Lubbock, 3 Sep 1862.
-Charles Darwin to Thomas Huxley, 10 Sep 1860
I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything.
-Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell, 1 Oct 1861
I hate myself, I hate clover, and I hate bees.
-Charles Darwin to John Lubbock, 3 Sep 1862.
While I have never actually used any of these, I do keep a list of them just in case. I think they might come in handy someday.
I am not too poorly today, but sometimes stupid, and not too fond of some people and some things,
Bonny
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Dear Mayo Clinic,
There are times when knitting gets the best of me but I do want to thank you for your research and findings. "The investigators found that ordinary yet intellectually stimulating
activities such as using a computer, playing games, reading books and
engaging in crafts — including knitting, woodworking and other types of
handiwork — were associated with a 30 to 50 percent decrease in the
chances of developing mild cognitive impairment."
I know you said that it was also important to maintain heart health and stay physically active, but after I've done that, I'm sitting down to grow my cognitive reserve with knitting and reading. Sometimes I even do both at the same time. Does that count double?
Thanks!
A knitter and reader
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I hope you have a good weekend, completely free of any snake yoga classes!
Snake yoga?! No, nope, no thank you. Not in a million years. It makes me feel better to know that even Darwin had bad days and wasn't shy about telling people about them. And the next time someone gives me a hard time about knitting a lot, I'll be sure to send them to that study.
ReplyDeleteDear Snake Yoga People... what the actual eff!!! Just no!!!!!!! (yes with that many exclamation points!) I am currently reading Adrian Bell's A countryman's Spring Notebook and I must say, it is comforting to read his thoughts on spring, that though they were written 75 years ago seem so relevant today... (and he had bad days as well, though not as poignantly as Darwin's!) And any day that a study reinforces my love of reading and making is a very good day! Thank you for these mailbag treats!
ReplyDeleteI read about snake yoga, and I was appalled. WTF?! I think having any animals with you other than pets defeats the entire point of yoga! Who can be present and meditative, even with kittens? Being trendy is often idiotic. It is somewhat comforting that great minds also have days where they hate everything and everybody. The world is too much with everyone at times. I have another article about knitting that I found very interesting and motivating for me to find some way to continue to knit. I cannot do continental knitting either, so I am practicing Portuguese style. Maybe this one will work!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260305-the-surprising-health-benefits-of-knitting
I would quit yoga and my studio if ever there were a snake present. No friggin' way!! Just seeing that picture creeped me out. And Darwin, bless him. I imagine he would have a lot of hateful things to say if he were alive today. Becky mentioned Portuguese knitting - today's MDK post is about that and I'm thinking of giving it a try!
ReplyDeleteAs always...I love Friday letters. Who knew I had so much in common with Charles Darwin!?
ReplyDeleteDear Bonnie, Thank you for sharing your letters. They were a great start to my slow-starting morning. sincerely, A fellow reader and knitter
ReplyDeleteDarwin sounds like my kind of people. The yoga folks-not so much.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Mayo study, when Dad was in a nursing home there was a very old lady who sat in a wheelchair by the windows all day making odd hand motions that the staff didn't know how to treat. I walked over there to take a look and realized....she was knitting. No needles. No yarn but she was absolutely knitting in her dream state. It gave me hope.
Thanks for sharing your nursing home story. I thinks it's really lovely in its own way, and gives me hope also.
DeleteOh my goodness - I can't see how yoga and snakes would ever go together. That gives me the shivers. The research on knitting continues to point to positive cognitive skill. Thank goodness the Mayo Clinic and other researchers can verify what we have always suspected.
ReplyDeleteNo snake yoga! ;-) Love your Darwin letters…I can certainly connect with that thought process at times! PD
ReplyDeleteI might ask Jess (Justin's fiancee) if she'd consider snake yoga. She does yoga and she has a gigantic boa for a pet, but I don't know if there's any overlap between the two!
Deletewe knitters always knew it was good for us cognitively :) It's nice for Mayo to justify it.
ReplyDeleteNo snakes at yoga, please. And no goats either, for that matter. Hooray for the findings of the Mayo Clinic!
ReplyDeleteYeah... that's a NO to snake yoga for me, too! I've seen goat yoga 'round here. ;)
ReplyDelete